Evaporated milk with improved mouth feel, process of making it, products containing said milk and use for food or beverage production

Abstract

The present invention relates to evaporated milks and methods of producing evaporated milks comprising protein aggregates which contribute to the improvement of creaminess, mouthfeel and texture. Especially, the invention concerns an evaporated milk comprising caseins and whey proteins in the ratio of 90:10 to 60:40 and having a total solids content of at least 10 wt % and of less than 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk, wherein the caseins/whey protein aggregates have a volume-based mean diameter d(4,3) of 1-80 pm as measured by laser diffraction. Furthermore, the process for preparing an evaporated milk comprises the steps of: a) providing a liquid evaporated milk at a temperature below 25° C., said evaporated milk comprising caseins and whey proteins in the ratio of 90:10 to 60:40 and having a total solids content of at least 10 wt % and of less than 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk; b) adjusting pH of the evaporated milk provided in step a) in the range of 5.7 to 6.4; c) subjecting the evaporated milk obtained in step b) to a heat sterilization treatment at a temperature above 100° C.; d) cooling the evaporated milk obtained in step c) below 70° C. A food or beverage containing the milk as well as the use of the milk for producing a food or beverage are also disclosed.

1 . An evaporated milk comprising caseins and whey proteins in a ratio of 90:10 to 60:40 and having a total solids content of at least 10 wt % and of less than 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk, wherein the caseins/whey protein aggregates have a volume-based mean diameter d (4,3)  of 1-80 μm as measured by laser diffraction. 
     
     
         2 . The evaporated milk according to  claim 1 , wherein the total milkfat content is of 1 to 15 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk. 
     
     
         3 . The evaporated milk according to  claim 1 , wherein the milk protein content is of at least 34 wt %, based on the total non-fat solids present in the evaporated milk. 
     
     
         4 . The evaporated milk according to  claim 1 , which does not comprise a thickener. 
     
     
         5 . The evaporated milk according to  claim 1 , wherein the evaporated milk is a full fat milk. 
     
     
         6 . The evaporated milk according to  claim 5 , wherein:
 the evaporated milk does not comprise a thickener; and   the evaporated milk has a viscosity of 50 to 140 mPas at a shear rate of 100 s −1  and/or a flowtime of at least 22 s.   
     
     
         7 . The evaporated milk according to  claim 1 , wherein the evaporated milk is selected from the group consisting of a skim milk and semi-skim milk. 
     
     
         8 . The evaporated milk according to  claim 7 , wherein:
 the evaporated milk does not comprise a thickener; and   the evaporated milk has a viscosity of 20 to 80 mPas at a shear rate of 100 s −1  and/or a flowtime of at least 15 s.   
     
     
         9 . A process for preparing an evaporated milk comprising the steps of:
 a) providing a liquid evaporated milk at a temperature below 25° C., said evaporated milk comprising caseins and whey proteins in the ratio of 90:10 to 60:40 and having a total solids content of at least 10 wt % and of less than 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk;   b) adjusting pH of the evaporated milk provided in step a) in the range of 5.7 to 6.4;   c) subjecting the evaporated milk obtained in step b) to a heat sterilization treatment at a temperature above 100° C.; and   d) cooling the evaporated milk obtained in step c) below 70° C.   
     
     
         10 . The process according to  claim 9 , wherein in step b) the pH of the evaporated milk is adjusted to a pH in the range of 5.9 to 6.4. 
     
     
         11 . The process according to  claim 9 , wherein the heat sterilization treatment is a UHT sterilization process or a retorting sterilization process. 
     
     
         12 . The process according to  claim 11 , wherein the heat sterilization treatment is a UHT sterilization process. 
     
     
         13 . The process according to  claim 12 , wherein the UHT sterilization process is carried out at a temperature of 135 to 150° C. 
     
     
         14 . The process according to  claim 12 , wherein the UHT sterilization process time is of 2 to 30 s. 
     
     
         15 . The process according to  claim 9 , wherein the evaporated milk is not subjected to a heat treatment step between the pH adjustment step b) and the sterilization step c). 
     
     
         16 - 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A food or beverage product comprising an evaporated milk comprising caseins and whey proteins in a ratio of 90:10 to 60:40 and having a total solids content of at least 10 wt % and of less than 30 wt %, based on the total weight of the evaporated milk, wherein the caseins/whey protein aggregates have a volume-based mean diameter d (4,3)  of 1-80 μm as measured by laser diffraction. 
     
     
         19 . The food or beverage product according to  claim 18 , wherein the food is selected from the group consisting of a ready-to-drink beverage, a dairy culinary product, a soup or soup base, a dessert, a tea or coffee creamer or enhancer, a dairy component in coffee mixes and dairy component for use in a beverage system such as a beverage vending system. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled)